Prone to Wander, Prone to Leave
by hierogylphsoup
Summary: On Christmas Eve, two friends say hello without speaking a word. [Ammended: now a drabble series. AU, character studies.]
1. Chapter 1

The sky above him was a strange black. There was the moon, nestled in the upper branches of the trees, which bathed the blackness in a blue glow. The snow was thick and white on the ground below, and on the rooftops. It glinted with the moonlight, and grinned luminescent. It lit up the blackness, shining like the fairy lights the people decorated their houses with this time of year.

And, of course, there was the golden sand that spun in the sky. In some places it moved lazily, but in others it twirled and danced with fervor. He reached out a hand and brushed it, the gold lighting up ruddy skin. His friend was never late, no matter the holiday.

When his fingers disturbed the stream, a tiny lizard burst forth and ran up his arm, stopping in the crook of his elbow. A cold wind blew, and its image shuddered. The tiny golden creature looked up at its host curiously, tilting its head questioningly. Then it darted a little further up, settling on his bicep beneath his cloak. A tiny snout poked out, lighting up the dark red fur. It was like the flame of a candle; gentle, alive, and warm.

Grinning at the creature's antics, the boy sat, knees tucked beneath him. He moved the cloak away from the lizard, who jumped slightly but did not scurry away. He peered down at it, almost nose to nose with the creature. The wind blew a little harder, and the boy's nose was red with the cold and smattered with freckles. He reached back his other arm, grasping the staff behind him. Slowly, so that he wouldn't startle the creature, he laid the straight end of the staff just above his elbow. The red berry branches tied to the end laid inviting, and the lizard climbed onto them. It stood on a thin, wavering branch, one claw resting like a hand on a single red berry.

He brought the staff up slowly, taking care not to shake it too much lest the lizard blow away. It glowed, reflected in the boy's brown eyes. For a moment, all was warm tones, the red cloak, the golden light, the brown eyes. But the moment shattered a second later when the lizard leapt forward, landing on the boy's nose and running up into his hair. He startled, then laughed.

Trying futilely to see, he set the staff down again, and reached up with both hands. One moved aside his evergreen crown while the other brushed through auburn hair. He did not find the lizard, but when he brought his hand back down, it was littered with golden flecks. He winced, but blew a great breath on his hand. The wind did the rest, and he watched silently in the not-so-dark night as they rejoined the river of gold he'd caught them from. It was one of the last in the sky, and he realized that he ought to be moving along too.

He grabbed his staff, and stood, righting the evergreen crown on his head. Calling on the wind, he flew like a cardinal in the sky, for he was a busy being. He was Jack Frost, guardian of wonder, and keeper of Christmas.

 **A/N: I'm awful at drawing, so instead here's a character study of Christmas!Jack. I've had this idea for a while (of course, I wait until May to debut it.)** **I've stuck solidly with Jack with my stories, but just so y'all know, I also have the idea of Easter!Tooth, which is very pretty (in my head at least). I might write that next, or maybe a slightly longer AU of Jack and his sister. Anyways, merry Christmas in May.**

 **Also, May the Fourth be with you.**

 **Love, hieroglyphsoup.**


	2. Chapter 2

She rather likes her task. When she ventures out, she gets neither too cold, nor too warm, as the land hemisphere is chilly with a warm breath, while the ocean hemisphere is barely warm with cool breezes.

And she rather likes the children. How their eyes light up when they find their reward, how the task of seeking puts purpose in their steps.

She watches one boy, now, as she blends into the trees, leaves melting into leaves. He is older, and probably never believed in her in the first place. After all, eggs, while expected in some places, are not universal. No, not at all. If she sent an egg to the boy below, he'd be more bewildered than all else. But he works quickly, the youngest of his competition, and weaves berry branches and vines through the bare bones of an arch, and settles back once he is finished to survey the others. An older woman with his nose and eyes waves a kerchief at him and catches his attention.

" _Bambino! Mia ragazzo!_ " she calls to him.

" _Si?"_

 _"_ _E bellissimo. Il migliore che abbia mai visto."_

 _"_ _Ma perchè?"_

 _"_ _E tuo."_

He beams at her, and his smile is radiant.

She watches the boy and the woman with an aching pride, and calls down a helper.

The little one is like her in appearance, a crown of flowers adorning her head, and green and gold leaves across her skin like the feathers of a bird. They share the same eyes, dark like rich soil. To the little one, she whispers instructions, and her miniature companion zooms down. Small enough to be thought a bird or bug, she distracts the people without arousing unwanted attention. With the eyes of the ones below on the bird that is not a bird, the woman in the tree raises her hand and the vines on the arch below grow, lengthening, flowering in the right places and bearing ripe dates just at eye level. Even from her vantage point far above, she can see this arch is the most beautiful of them all.

She then notices the old woman staring at the arch, eyes wide and clear despite her age. The woman had seen the fruits grow, seen flowers bloom.

For a moment, she holds her breath. But the woman crosses herself and smiles. The boy notices, too, that his arch has grown flowers where before there were none. He looks at the old woman, who whispers to him, " _E un benedizione._ "

There is awe in his eyes. The woman in the tree calls on her companion, for they have overstayed their welcome. She is, after all, a busy spirit. She is the spirit of Easter, and she hopes the boy wins his competition.

A/N: All characters belong to Dreamworks Animation, William Joyce, et al. I am merely borrowing them.

 ** _I've had this concept in my head for a while now. I really like the idea of them all having each other's tasks. I already finished Jack's, as you can see. So here is Tooth! I didn't want to mention her name in the story though. That'd sound silly wouldn't it? An Easter fairy whose name is Tooth? Again, this is just a character study. Easter!Tooth has leaves on her skin instead of feathers, and a flower crown. She'd fit in quite nicely at Coachella._**

 ** _Also, Bunny is a bit of a liar in the movie, He doesn't need to paint eggs for the whole world. Only the Americas, the UK, Germany (this is actually where the whole concept of Easter eggs was born), and Australia/New Zealand. But I like to think that they adhere to the traditions of each country. What was depicted above was a traditional Sicilian Easter, the decorating of arches with vines and bread, held as a competition between members of a religious brotherhood. It's called_** **Archi di Pasqua.** ** _I got most of this information from research and hearsay, so correct me if anything is wrong. That includes the Italian bits – I only speak a bit, just what my grandmother taught me. Lastly, because this author's note is almost longer than the damn story, here's the translation:_**

 ** _"_** **Child! My boy!"**

 **"** **Yes?"**

 **"** **It is beautiful. The best I have ever seen."**

 **"** **But why?"**

 **"** **It is yours."**

 **…**

 **"** **It is a blessing."**

Con amore _,_ hieroglyphsoup _._


End file.
